Colorado/Utah Vacation Days 1-2: Red Eyes and Monsons

We haven't left our rock for almost a year, so vacation could not come soon enough.  We prefer not to take our child out of school but when there's a family wedding, you go, and when you go from clear out in the middle of the ocean, you don't go for only a few days.

Red eye flights are the worst.  Every time we take one, I think there surely must be an alternative and whatever the cost difference is, it has to be worth it.  Then we look at the difference and take the red eye.  We were up packing and fretting over our seats (the non-reclining back row next to the bathrooms) the night before until 2:30am, so it was a rough start.  The kids did decently well on the flights to Colorado, but we got an hour of sleep between the two of us.

 We went to get our car and stood in line for an hour while the kids pleaded for food and Owen blew out his diaper all over me.  When we finally got through the line, we walked out and stood next to the Yaris and realized that unless we were clowns in a circus, we weren't going to fit.  Knowing we had an hour wait and bigger cars were several hundred dollars more for the week, we tried to be clowns, and we must have looked like a pretty entertaining circus to the employees watching.  We can't think about it now without busting a gut--Brady squeezing in bags everywhere we could and me finally admitting that he was right and there was absolutely no way.  The agents came out and helped us determine another option, and we were suited up with a mini van for $5/day a more.  Lucky.

By this time, we were all starving and made a fateful decision to eat at Chick-fil-A.  It was terrible and we can't figure out why people like eating there.  We finally checked into the hotel at nearly 4pm (after landing at 11:30am), and we all felt a little like this weepy baby:

After a really dry, slow jog for me, a quick snooze for Brady, and a trip to Target for Kate, we met up with Steve and Natalie at Chipotle.  They were generous to drive 45 minutes to meet us there and our kids were in heaven playing with Kelsey and Joshua.

The Nufer family reunion didn't start until Friday afternoon, so we jumped on an opportunity to see Boulder.  I've wanted to do the Boulder Half Marathon since getting a postcard about it in the mail almost 15 years ago.  The city definitely had charm.  We checked out Flatirons in Chautauqua Park, again joining Steve and Natalie's family.  

I saw this pile of horse poop and asked Zachary, "Why couldn't you hold it?"  In classic Z-man style, he cocked his head to the side, raised an eyebrow and said, "Moooooommmmm, really?"  About 5 minutes later, we crossed a stream and he asked me if I could please go to the bathroom in a place more private next time.  Good one, son.

Kate and Kelsey were really fast friends and it was super to have Natalie to myself.

Joshua and Zac kept coming up with ways to make the hike more fun--finding things to jump off of and playing "made you look" about 100 times.

Hyrum was happy when walking and blowing on dandelion weeds.

When Zac got out of the car, he immediately told Joshua that there were no snakes on the hike.  We let him know there actually were snakes in Colorado (which was the topic of about 97 of the 100 "made you looks").  I was surprised to spot this one several inches from my foot on the trail, though.  The kids were trying to use their extensive knowledge of snakes (which extends to rattle v. no rattle) to determine if it was poisonous.  An old man behind us said this guy was a gopher snake.  Zachary asked, "Are gopher snakes bad?"  He replied, "If you are a gopher."

After our short hike, we hit up Pearl Street in Boulder, where Zac was offered marijuana, the kids picked up their souvenirs, we ate a delicious curry bowl from a food truck, we posed in front of gorgeous flowers, we watched street performers, and we made like tourists with a piece of Cheesecake Factory deliciousness.

On the way out, Brady pointed out this store and acted like I should understand it's significance.  I told him I'd never heard of the store and it took me the entire stoplight to figure out it was our initials and he was being adorable.

I would have loved more time to explore Boulder, or even time to run a half marathon there.  Plenty of trails and exploring for more than a quick couple of hours.  Next time!

Up next, Nufer Family Reunion and Eric's Wedding.

Soccer Ends, Owen is 4 Months, and May (Vacation!) is Here

Zachary worked hard on Team Onipa'a, chasing down balls as a mostly mid-fielder this year.  His team struggled, winning only one game and tying another.  In most of the games, Zac was a key player and we were really pleased with how much he challenged, chased, and worked the ball.  We'd love to see him participate with a team that understands passing and field position better, but apparently the rules for kids this age are completely changing for next year anyway.  

Our goalie was pretty distracted.  More than one ball flew by him while he watched another game.  Haha!

 Zac loved soccer this season.  He went to practice super excited and ready to play.  He came home sweatier than I've ever seen him and with a nearly purple face.  He was respectful and listened to coaches, and got along great with his teammates.  Sometimes when I sit in the car while it pours and we miss half of a Saturday from watching his game, I wonder if team sports are worth it, but I am pretty convinced that (some) team sports are very valuable experiences.

Owen is 4 months!  He holds his head up so well, rolls over on accident, coos, and occasionally giggles.  I have yet to hear the giggles but Brady and Zac claim they happen.  He consistently sleeps through the night from about 9pm to 6am.  It's a dream.  His daytime naps are awful and horribly inconsistent but who in the world cares when he sleeps at night?!?

His fuzzy, bald head is my favorite and he is my most cuddly baby so far.  He loves to lay on my shoulder and get rocked, even when it's not even close to sleep time.  He hates it the car seat passionately.  Still.  He will sit in the swing for a few minutes but really just wants to be held.  That works out pretty well because we like to hold him, but also brings his tears in the morning while I get Kate's hair done, etc.

Owen sucks on everything.  My sweaty shoulder, his blankets, the car seat, toys, binkeys, and his entire fist.  He is so wet from his mouth to his belly button that I have to change him at least once during the day.  Kate was the same way and everyone said she was teething, but the teeth came much, much later.

I love to breastfeed him.  I decided I was on board with the naturalizing breastfeeding movement and now he refuses to let me cover him up ever while he eats.  Ha!  It's been a lot more comfortable for him than it was for Kate, who sweat her brains out under a light blanket.  I am wondering how that swings out on vacation with a more conservative crowd.  Eek.  

 I love this picture the most.  Ah!  Couldn't you just nibble on those little piggies?  (He sure does.)

 My favorite feature is his mouth.  It is so perfect.  My second favorite are his eyes because he looks just like Brady.

I can't close off this post without a couple pics of Kate.  She is so patient.  She had her last co-op preschool day last week which ended with a dance party.  She is still in her other preschool for a few more sessions, but she is ready for Kindergarten!  She can legitimately read and is confident making friends.  I look at her and can't believe the changes of the past few months.

Yay!  Now I can go on vacation in a couple hours without blog guilt.  Hehe!  Can't wait for the mountains, family, friends, and food.

Sunny Day in Hanalei

I always say a sunny day in Hanalei is hard to beat and this day was no different.  It was chaotic getting there with a soccer game in the morning, but we packed up the car late the night before to make it as painless as possible.  Nic and Heidi joined us and we pulled into the beach before lunch.

My rib has hurt since Owen was 7 weeks old but the doctor told me to give it a go surfing.  I was careful and surfed only the "small kine waves," which still didn't feel the best.  Later in the day, I heard a popping sound and could barely paddle in.  Argh.  I hate long-healing injuries, especially those that keep me from running or surfing.

Zac is on a roll with surfing, and ran out in the water with his board almost before we could sunscreen him.  He rode waves all afternoon, coming in to eat bites of sandwich or play in the sand for a few minutes, and then charging back out.  He surprised me on this wave by catching the tail end of it and riding it in with me.

Kate rode waves all afternoon on her boogie board.

See Zac.  See Zac's tongue.

Seeing Kate really embrace her independence in the water is so exciting!  She's still cautious, but a little caution never hurts with the ocean.

Zachary was excited when Ty rode the same wave with him.

My favorite shot of the day.

The day made us grateful for Nic and Heidi's family and this beach that takes forever to get to but is almost always worth it.  We topped the day off with a stop at an Indian restaurant in Kapa'a.  So good!  It was a perfect and exhausting weekend, and reminded us that the beach may be the same scene, but a new adventure every time.